Former Cape Coral Hospital nurse accused of raping patient

A former Cape Coral Hospital nurse is being investigated after a patient said he raped her.

Lee Health fired Jeovanni Hechavarria last July after the allegations came to light, and the Florida Department of Health has ordered Hechavarria's license to be restricted to certain duties.

Hechavarria is not facing charges at this time as Cape Coral police investigate the case.

Hechavarria worked as a full-time nurse at the hospital last summer.

In July, a female patient said he raped her and threatened he'd come after her if she told anyone.

"I wouldn't expect it from anybody working in a hospital, not somebody that cares for us," said Lewis Morehouse of Fort Myers.

"I think it's very disgusting actually, yeah, and it's very scary to know that people who are taking care of us could possibly do something like that," said Kim of North Fort Myers.

The DOH report claims Hechavarria touched the 43-year old patient's back and "told her how pretty she was." It goes on to state Hechavarria then raped the patient and told her "not to tell anyone because he knew where she lived," and "threatened to come back the following night and repeat his actions."

"It's appalling if it comes out to be true, but also extremely appalling if it turns out to be false as well," Morehouse said.

"It makes me a little uneasy, you know, to think that something like this could happen and it's this long until we're actually hearing about it."

"I think things probably should have been sped up a little bit," Kim said.

NBC2 reached out to Hechavarria for comment, but we have not heard back.

The state surgeon general has restricted Hechavarria's license, after finding the nurse "presents an immediate, serious danger to the public health, safety or welfare of the citizens of the State of Florida."

The restriction means Hechavarria cannot practice as a nurse with female patients without a licensed health-care provider present with him.

The document, dated January 13, said there will be a proceeding to determine formal discipline.

Statement from Lee Health:

Lee Health is deeply disturbed by the alleged conduct of this former employee. The safety and well-being of our patients is our highest priority. All of our employees undergo a thorough background screening process prior to employment, which includes a national and local criminal record search. On the rare occasion when a crime is alleged, we investigate immediately and take the appropriate steps based on the results of our investigation. In this case the employee was immediately terminated. This is a very unfortunate situation, but the actions of this individual are not reflective of the excellent and professional care provided in our hospitals each day.

The allegations were brought forward on July 15. His last day of employment was July 16.